23:59:59

Last year, the Doomsday Clock was set to 23:58:30, just 90 seconds away from midnight. What is the Doomsday Clock? It is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists1. In keeping the clock set at 23:58:30 for this year, the Board’s statement reads

“Ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe. The war in Ukraine and the widespread and growing reliance on nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear escalation. China, Russia, and the United States are all spending huge sums to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals, adding to the ever-present danger of nuclear war through mistake or miscalculation.

In 2023, Earth experienced its hottest year on record, and massive floods, wildfires, and other climate-related disasters affected millions of people around the world. Meanwhile, rapid and worrisome developments in the life sciences and other disruptive technologies accelerated, while governments made only feeble efforts to control them.”

What isn’t mentioned in this year’s statement are the following:

    • Last weekend, Biden almost, but didn’t approve Zelensky’s request to use long range (ATACMS) missiles against targets deep inside Russia2.
      • US military personnel are required for the operation and maintenance of ATACMS missiles
      • Authorization to deploy ATACMS missiles against Russia would be an overt attack on Russia by the US military
      • Such an act would constitute a de facto declaration of war by the US.
    • Vladimir Putin has given repeated warnings about Ukraine using long range US or NATO weapons against Russia3, but Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, and others continue to urge the US and NATO to deploy those weapons in the belief that Putin is bluffing.
    • The U.S. Army last week began deploying airborne troops and missiles to Shemya Island4 just 280 miles from the nearest Russia-owned island and 645 miles from Petropavlovsk, the capital of the Russian territory of Kamchatka.
    • The U.S. is the only nation that has deployed nuclear weapons and, along with NATO countries, has never adopted a “no first use” (NFU) policy for nuclear weapons. Russia rescinded its NFU policy5 in 1993 when it became clear that breaking up the Soviet Union would not end the cold war.
    • The U.S. is developing and deploying AI6 controlled weapons systems.
    • The Defense Department has accelerated its AI development programs for autonomous weapons systems7 that include intelligence intercept and monitoring systems, armed drones, armed robots, fighter aircraft and others. Rumor has it that AI is even being considered for targeting and operating nuclear weapons.
    • The U.S. Air Force recently demonstrated an AI controlled F16 fighter jet flight with the Air Force chief as a passenger8. At the interview following the flight the Air Force chief said he was confident enough in AI’s capabilities that he would trust it to fire weapons.
    • Diplomacy has completely broken down. Communications between the U.S. and Russia have been severed for all practical purposes. U.S. leaders refuse to negotiate and insist on carrying out the grand plan for a global hegemony as described by Zbigniew Brzezinski9 in his book “The Grand Chess Board”

Since it was created, the Doomsday Clock has been set backwards 8 times, but it has been advanced 17 times. At its beginning it was set to 7 minutes before midnight. With the beginning of the arms race in 1949, it was advanced to 3 minutes before midnight. With the successful testing of the hydrogen bomb it was advanced to 2 minutes before midnight. The clock was turned back during a period of respite from 1960 to 1980 while there was a degree of cooperation between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. on nuclear weapons limitations, but in 1981 Ronald Reagan rekindled the cold war and the clock was advanced to 4 minutes before midnight. With the removal of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. the clock was again set back to 17 minutes before midnight. Since then, however, relations between the U.S. and Russia have continuously deteriorated and war, instigated by the U.S.10, has broken out between Ukraine (once a Soviet Republic) and Russia so that the clock was advanced to 90 seconds until midnight last year.Comparing the current situation and its inherent risks with the Doomsday Clock settings and the risks assessed at various times throughout its history, last week I would have advanced the clock up to 23:59:59 leaving us about 1 second until midnight11. So long as we continue to play “chicken” with Vladimir Putin, the clock will remain where it is until it finally strikes midnight. GAME OVER.

1 The Science and Security Board was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project.

2 Scott Ritter: 72 Minutes

3 BBC news report.

4 The Alaska Beacon

5 Declared by Leonid Brezhnev in 1984.

6 AI, or artificial intelligence, is an unproven and high risk technology.

7 Semafor

8 WNBS TV, Columbus, OH

9 National Security Advisor for President Jimmy Carter

10 The Story Behind the Ukraine War

11 Biden’s refusal to grant permission to deploy ATACMs against targets inside Russia may have bought us a few more seconds, but that decision is not final and the jury is still out.